Soft to the max: Other side of MOLIY the world doesn't know

MOLIY doesn’t fit neatly into the image her music projects. The Ghanaian singer, whose sound is bold enough to travel far beyond her home country, says she is far more introverted than most people expect.

“When I’m not performing, I just want quiet,” she says. “Being at home, watching movies, spending time with family and friends. That’s where I feel most like myself.”

That calm, almost private energy sits behind music that feels anything but small. 

Over the past two years, MOLIY has grown into one of Ghana’s most visible female artists, part of a generation of African women whose work is shaping how the world hears the continent’s music.

Her journey began in a home filled with Ghanaian classics. Growing up, she listened to Daddy Lumba and Rex Omar, alongside contemporary acts like R2Bees and 4x4. 

At the same time, she paid attention to women who refused to blend in, Ebony, Eazzy, Itz Tiffany and Sister Deborah among them. Their boldness showed her that there was more than one way to be a woman in music.

For a long time, music wasn’t a fixed plan. That changed around 2018, a period MOLIY describes as confusing but necessary.

“I felt stuck in life,” she says. “But when I started making music intentionally, something clicked.” Watching African artists break through globally during that time helped her realise that her voice, too, could travel.

Today, her sound sits comfortably between Afro-pop and Afro-fusion, with clear dancehall influences. 

She describes it as soft but confident, music you can dance to without losing the emotional connection. It’s a balance that has helped her stand out in a crowded industry.

The turning point came in December 2024 with Shake It To The Max (FLY). The song spread quickly online, finding listeners far beyond Ghana and becoming a defining moment in her career. 

It wasn’t just a hit; it was a statement that MOLIY belonged in the global conversation.

By the end of 2025, that reach was impossible to ignore. Her music had travelled widely enough for her to be named the most-exported Ghanaian artist of the year, a quiet but telling measure of how far her sound had gone.

Still, MOLIY is careful not to let visibility define her. As a woman in the industry, she says the pressure to conform is real. “People want to put you in boxes,” she says

“I don’t fight it loudly. I just stay fluid.” Her approach to music is shaped as much by vulnerability as it is by confidence, allowing her to shift moods without explaining herself.

That mindset has made her a reference point for younger women watching from the sidelines. 

Through her visuals and performances, she embraces femininity and self-expression without apology, offering an alternative to the narrow ideas of how female artists are expected to show up.

Her advice to those still hesitating is practical, not dramatic. Start with what you have. “For me, it was freestyling online,” she says. 

She believes consistency, affirmations and showing up, even imperfectly, matter more than waiting for the right moment.

Away from the noise, MOLIY still returns to the quiet spaces that ground her. They are where she resets, reflects and finds the clarity to keep creating.

As African music continues to stretch across borders, MOLIY’s rise feels less like a sudden explosion and more like a steady unfolding, an artist learning, in her own time, to trust that her voice doesn’t need to shout to be heard.